Clutch or the like



Feb. 13, 1940. c. SCHURMANN 2,189,930

CLUTCH OR THE LIKE Filed June so; 1939 INVENTCR CARL. ScHuRMANN ATTYS.

'20 comes wedged in the advance of the driving cured by meansof bolts 9to. the element 3. Disi 45 a loosening of the clamping rollers andattain a so constructed that both spring ends (with or 45 i 50 confinedbetween the lateral guide walls in the spring pressure thus transmittedto the pressure 50 v 55 modating the clamping rollers between thedrivments and upon a change of direction '(on the 5 Patented Feb. 13,194i) UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE q '2,1's9,93o in f g p p onu'ron onTH t Carl Schiirrnann, Dusseldorf, Germany, assignor to :The AerogenCompany'Limited, London, 7 England, a British company i v H Application.Tune 30, 1939, Serlal No. 2822 5? In Germany February 1938 T1 p 5Claims. to]. 192-44 M V e p This invention relates to a roller clutch.for ing and driven' members are made integral with use with advantage asan overrunning clutch or the member containing the groove; These and ias a device, preventingreverse movement of a othenfeaturesoftheinvention' will be more rotary member and it has for its object toobtain clearly understood by reference to the accome 5 greaterreliability of uniform and simultaneous panying drawingin' which a'roller clutch ac- 5' engagement of all clamping rollers and therebycording to this invention is illustrated by way to render, the rollerclutch useful for the transof example. 1 mission. of large torques andfor very high rotary Figure 1 is a. fragmental section through thespeeds. y a clutch taken parallel to the-shaft.

The unreliable action of .roller clutches hi- Figure 2 shows afragmental section through. 10

thereto in use is attributable to two causes: the clutch taken at rightangles to the shaft.

(l) The roller housings were always built up Figure 3 is a correspondingview of the periphof several components for the purpose of easier eryofthe inner clutch element and y machining of the clamping faces, suchcom-Figure 4 shows a detail on an enlarged scale.-

ponents being apt after a certain running period As shown the clutchconsists of an inner ele- 15 to become loose and thereby to give rise toundue ment I provided on its periphery-with a groove lateral play of theclamping rollers enabling the confined between twolateral members I2.The, latter to assume an oblique position. Immediouter clutch element,here the driven element,, i's ately a roller assumes an oblique position{it} bein the form of a cylindrical ring 2 which islsclutch member andthereby is exposed to the risk placeable in the groove in the drivingmember I of having to transmit, the whole of theturning are the clampingrollers 4, iwhich by means of. moment by itself. This invariably resultsthe {springs Gare urged into engagement with the destruction of eitherthe roller or of thecq-optwo clutch elements. The springs 6 are in theerating clampingfaces. I form of double-armed twin levers fulcrumed on22;

(2) In the transition from idle running to the pins 5 extendingtransversely'facross the groove. coupling of the driven clutch memberproper The twinendsofthe leverarms of thesprings 6 driving'engagementoccurs initially only, on that engaging the rollers l-carrypressurerollers 8 side of the shaft on which the clamping rollersforming the actual contact surfaces through have been brought intoengagement with the which the spring pressures are exerted upon the 30clamping faces by their own weight. The rollers rollers 4' oversubstantially their whole length. on the opposite side of the shaftremain ineffec- A ring packing l0 inserted between the inner and tive sothat the load is unequally distributed. outerclutch elements I and 2 ispreferably pro- This defect has already been recognised in vided toprevent the ingress of foreign matter to f v part and in order to avoidit springs were used the operative surfaces. 5

to press the rollers into engagement but the The inner clutch element Iprovided with inknown spring arrangements were not satisfacdividualclamping faces II is made in one with tory in thatupon a change of therotary directhe lateral guide faces [2. In order to enable. tion therollers were not brought into engagethis to be done the individualclamping faces II 40 mient sufliciently quickly and thus were not prearenot spiral shaped but are. constituted by 40 vented from assumingoblique positions. Morestraight or cylindrical'faces enabling them to beover the springs were apt to damage the roller readily machined from onesolid piece. The surfaces within a relatively short time. v pressuresprings 6 as clearly shown inFigures 2 In orderto obviate thesedefects, 1. e. to avoid to 4 are double-armed twin levers and moreoverreliable simultaneous engagement thereof bewithout bearing sleeves 1)form a joint carrier tween the driving and driven members without for apressure roller 8 thereby enabling the risk of obliquity or damage ofthe roller surfaces, spring pressure to be. transmitted to the clamp.-according to this invention the clamping rollers ing roller 4 solely bythe pressure roller 8. The

groove between the driving andfthe driven memroller is a multiple of theweight of the clamping 'bers are each controlled by a lever-like springrollers 4 withthe result that the latter are forced fulcrumed, betweenthe lateral guide members. in every position and even at high rotaryspeeds The lateralmembers confining the groove accominto reliableengagement with the clutch eletransition from idle running to clutching)the clutch operates at once and free from all play. By the twinconstruction of the springs an oblique position of the clamping rollersis at the same time definitely prevented.

In order that the spring 6 may fulfil its function even at high rotaryspeeds for example of 2000 to 6000 revolutions per minutethepressureroller 8 is journalled at a short distance-from the face of the outerclutch element; moreover the windings of the spring surrounding the pin"5 tlie form of a frame having a roller whereby the havev an internaldiameter greater than-the diameter of the pin. As the centrifugal forceincreases the pressure rolle'rf8; is 'theiiefore; 'able toi approach thering 2 untilitcomes-into contact i M bers, comprising lateral guidemembers on one of therewith. At the same time the spring 6 urges thepressure roller 8 againstthe'clampingroller 4 without its pressure beingin any way in lpaired members in a groovebetween the lateral guidemembers and a lever-like spring for each roller by the action of thecentrifugal force, ,Thear; rangement of the pressure roller 8 at'a'short distance fromthe-face of theouter'clutch ele-' ment hasmoreover the advantage that theclam ing roller 4 during idle running isforced away from the outer clutch element namely into the angle betweenthe pressure roller and the adjacent clamping face.

As will be observed from Figure 2 the pin 5 on which the spring 6 pivotsis disposed centrally of the associated clamping face I l. 'Ihe purposeof this arrangement is to enable the clampingroller 4 to betransferredto the otherend of the clamping face H and to reverse thespring 6 on its pin 5 so that the clutch will then operate in theopposite direction of rotation. V u

The effect of this clutch would be the same if the cylindrical surfacewas formed'on. the inner ers confined between the driving and drivenmembers in a groove between the lateral guide members, and a lever-likespring for. each roller fulcrumed between the lateral guidemembers andcontrolling the rollers, each' spring being i in the fulcrurned betweenthe lateral guide members and controlling the rollers, each spring beingin pressure ..is transmitted to the clamping roller uniformly'bversubstantially its entire length by the spring roller: l

"3. Ajroller cl'utch for driving and driven memseid driving and drivenmembers, clamping rollersgconnneci" between the driving and driven 4. Aroller clutch for driving and driven members, comprising lateral guidemembers one of said driving and driven members, clamping rollersconfined between the driving and driven membersi-n a groove between thelateral guide members, a l'ever-likefspring for each rollerfulcrumedbetween the lateral guide members and controlling the rollers,a pressure roller bearing sleeve carried by each spring, and a pressureroller on each sleeve.

5. A roller clutch for driving and driven members, comprising lateralguide members on one of said driving and driven members, clampingrollers confined between the driving and driven members in agroovebetweenthelateral guide members, a -lever-like spring for eachroller'fulcrurned betweenthe lateral guidemembers and controlling therollers, anda pin for each spring constituting a'vfulcrum for eachspring lever and located centrally of a clamping face of the one of saiddriving and driven members carrying said guide membe s. i CARLSCHI'JRMANN.

